


Everlasting love

by Kechk



Series: The Goblin and the Grim Reaper [3]
Category: Korean Drama, 쓸쓸하고 찬란하神 - 도깨비 | Goblin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet, Character Death, Dorks in Love, Families of Choice, Family Feels, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Lots of dorky scenes, M/M, Mentions of War, Pettiness, Slice of Life, Some naughty bits HAHAHA, long fic, stupid stubborn dorks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-02
Updated: 2017-02-02
Packaged: 2018-09-21 14:54:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9553562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kechk/pseuds/Kechk
Summary: Some things are different, some things remain the same. Time ticks by, a threat unseen.The Goblin and the Grim Reaper go about their lives in typical fashion, except.Sequel one shot to Being at Peace





	

**Author's Note:**

> Probably the last installment I’ll be writing for this series lol hahaha so I’m going to make it as long as I possibly can. I keep thinking about their relationship and how it would play out. For the life of me, I simply cannot let go of the fact that this pairing has so much chemistry, goodness gracious. Will be weaving in some angst, hurt/comfort, their petty competitiveness and other childish antics. They have a lot to juggle, being both superhuman and human. I notice I have tendencies of imagining fictional characters into all sorts of AUs, some are pretty crazy (I ship Wolverine and professor X or professor X with doctor strange, I'm a nutcase)
> 
> I like all the characters in the series (cept Joong Heon of course, the ass). So everyone’s status will be discussed lol. This is an unstructured fic, just passing through events in time. All of the characters are dorks. Kind of slice of life style. These adorable dorks. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy these stupid men and characters as much as I do.

Ji Eun Tak was at a roadside restaurant waiting for Sunny to join her when a bunch of reaper's came through the door and took up a table for eight.

Their arrival made the small restaurant seem like a chicken farm, their bellows of laughter resounding against the plastic sheets that sheltered them. It wasn't very pleasant, these small eateries were always filled with drunk men and women, but even they were never this loud.

Her first time drinking had been with Kim Shin and he had beaten up a bunch of gang members that same night. She supposed that she could never escape the strange and whimsical world of the supernatural. At least she had a confidant in her ex-boss, now landlady or more accurately big sister.

They rarely saw each other despite living in the same building, their lives having picked up momentum. She was busy with her studies, Sunny was busy with her flourishing business. Her boss had wanted to have dinner for some girl time, to finally sit down together and talk about anything and everything.

“Sorry I'm late. The new staff just aren't as efficient as you were.” She sighed, plopping onto her seat tiredly.

“It’s okay. It feels like it’s been so long since then. So many things have happened, good and bad, but mostly good. How are you?”

“Yeah, my brother and Woo Bin are as smitten as an old couple. It’s so sweet it’s giving me diabetes. They’re a match made in heaven. That’s kind of literal given that they’re a goblin and reaper. I’m okay I suppose.”

“You suppose?” She scanned her idol’s slight crease on her forehead, lips pressed together in a repressed scowl. She knew that look. She’d seen it nearly everyday when she was still her part-timer. Boss and her love issues. “Boss, are you seeing someone new?”

Sunny responded with a dramatic shrill, pouring herself a shot of fruit flavoured soju before gulping it down.

_Oh dear. Boss is a lightweight. Better defuse the situation._

That was what Eun Tak did best anyway. The goblin and grim reaper were drama queens and she had been the adept mediator. Now she was going to have to do it for her boss too.

“I swear, part-timer, you have the sharpest eyes.” She slammed her glass down onto the table, pushing her hair back with a flair. “Yes, I am indeed seeing someone new.”

Eun Tak snatched the bottle of soju away, imploring with her eyes that her boss remain sober. Drunken conversations often brought up all sorts of information, this was not the place with a table of reapers seated nearby. Sunny understood. She still pouted regardless.

“It’s who I’m seeing that concerns me.” Eun Tak had the patience of a saint.

“There’s this girl who came into my shop. She’s gorgeous. At first I was just jealous of her looks, but she gave me this smile before she left and I can’t get her out of my head.”

Eun Tak sighed. How did she always end up pulled into in love problems? She had come to terms with the goblin and reaper’s relationship, it was just that she wished she had something similar. She had her eyes on someone in her faculty but she found that whoever she wanted to be with would have to deal with the supernatural. In no way was she going to threaten her relations with her friends, her family of choice. That was the same conflict going through Sunny’s mind, she assumed, despite the simplicity of her complaints.

“Do you know how to contact her?”

“No. She didn’t leave anything. I don’t know her name and stuff. Why do I always fall for the mysterious types? This isn’t the first.” Ah, the situation at the moment was simpler then. She was relieved.

“Why don’t you wait for a while? Maybe she’ll be back at the restaurant sometime.”

Sunny groaned. Eun Tak had to hide her laughter.

They were still sorting their lives out, but they had each other and their friendship was the one key stone they could depend on.

* * *

The reaper was absently cutting some carrots in the kitchen, waiting for a pot of water to boil.

“Uncle tenant! I’m here! What are you making for lunch?” Deok Hwa in his outrageously patterned suit came to stand beside him, peering at the neatly compartmentalised ingredients.

“We’re having soup, vegetable soup.” The goblin muttered followed by a childish _yuck,_ face scrunching in distaste. He lifted his arm, telekinetically opening the fridge and retrieving a can of soda. He hunkered down on the dining table, resting his chin on the palm of his bent arm.

“How’s work at the company going?” The reaper asked monotonously.

“Mm, it’s okay I guess. I’m having trouble with learning about financing and all that. Secretary Kim is a great help but I just can’t wrap my head around numbers.”

“I can help you with that whenever I’m free. Shin can too, he has tons of time to spare anyway.”

“Hey, just because I don’t have a job like you do doesn’t mean I’ve got nothing to do.”

“Like what? Guard your goblin cave?” The reaper teased with a straight face. Deok Hwa was there, he reduced the fluffiness of his responses to Shin for his sake. He knew for a fact that Deok Hwa’s uncle however, had the obliviousness of a blind bull.

_I’m the socially awkward one and he doesn’t notice the others’ faces red with embarrassment? Stupid goblin._

“Yeah, and being a reaper is soooo awesome. The amount of paperwork you pompous arses have to complete could deforest the entire Amazon.”

“It’s necessary.”

“Is not. God could switch to looking at digital copies.”

“If you’re so full of ideas, why don’t you devise something for the grim reaper community? It’s better than criticising and making the weather in Seoul go nuts.”

“Nyeh. Do you think God would listen? And, I made the trees blossom the other day, it’s been a hit with tourists. The hotels I own are filled to capacity because of the strange phenomena _you_ helped create.” He gave a shark toothed grin. The reaper continued chopping vegetables with a straight face, albeit with more force and the slight pink spreading on his cheeks.

Deok Hwa was wise to not comment. “Uncle, could you mentor me on finances?”

“Fine, fine.”

Deok Hwa loved his uncles, he really did. But next time, he’d drag Eun Tak along with him to suffer together. She’d give him hell for it, but watching her wit play out against the two inhabitants would be worth to watch.

* * *

Shin was wandering the streets of Seoul one afternoon, bored to death because:

  1. The reaper was busy with assignments.
  2. Eun Tak had lectures to attend.
  3. Sunny was busy attending to customers and hung up on some girl. (He wasn’t too keen to investigate, lest he incur his sister’s wrath. There wasn’t enough information to go about it yet anyway.)
  4. Deok Hwa was caught up with remembering corporate terminology with Secretary Kim.
  5. He didn’t feel like doing anything without either of them.



So here he was. Stalking a group of reapers chattering with their hats on for whatever reason.

“Senior Reaper Kim is definitely dating someone. It’s not the pretty lady in the olive chicken restaurant. I’m positive I saw something on his neck.”

“Ugh, I want to know so bad. He’s so stone faced all the time, he really is a _grim_ reaper.”

“Whoever it is, she must be really, really pretty. I mean, he ended things with the restaurant owner and she sets a pretty high standard to surpass.” A female reaper cried out.

“Are you jealous?” One of the men snickered.

“I know I am. The boss is a god damn supermodel.” The youngest male reaper retorted.

“Blah, whoever it is that he’s dating, that person is a nutjob for putting up with his sense of superiority.” Shin recognised the man. He was the one who’d left the reaper to pay for the tab. “You know what I think? I think that it's just a fling.”

“What? Why?”

Shin was curious now too.

“Well, he doesn’t mention anything about them, good or bad. If he really loved him he’d have bragged out loud by now. It’s not like reapers being successful with anyone is commonplace.”

“That could just be professionalism you know.”

Shin felt the annoyance creeping unto him. _Psh. What nonsense these reapers spouted. He’d show them-_

_Oh._

Shin grinned mischievously, he had something to do now. Inwardly, he cackled, mind whizzing with many plans to make the group of reapers eat their own words.

* * *

After a day of sending off the dead, the reaper was weary. Today had not been a good day.

He had to send off a young family of three, their daughter only 5 years old. Cause of death had been a malfunction of their car breaks. There was no one to blame.

He felt like snuggling into bed with Shin like he usually did. When either of them had bad days, it was routine to just hunker down with thick blankets and each other.

Besides that, there was the early concern of his name. Shin had dropped the subject but it always lingered his mind. He had to sign a lot of documents with his reaper reference name, how could he forget?

And right now? He didn’t really want to be reminded of his depressing job scope.

“There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!” Shin looped his arm around the reapers, dragging the surprised man towards a smoothie shop.

“Wha-”

With a tug, Shin spun the reaper to face him, shoving his pointy finger at his lips. “Hush. No time to explain, play along.”

Shin’s eyes were bright with excitement and mischief. The reaper wasn’t particularly feeling up to it but he was given no opening to retort.

The jingle of the doorbell sounded through the shop and Shin shoved the reaper unto an empty seat.

“Shin-”

“Wait there. Don’t move.” He then skipped to the cashier and bought two drinks. The reaper was tired, but then he always was. He obediently straightened in his seat and waited.

Shin placed the drinks on the table forcefully, almost spilling the contents. Then he dragged his chair loudly before sitting.

“Isn’t it nice to spend time together like this?” The goblin spoke loud enough for all the human diners to hear.

“Shin- what are you-” The reaper could feel unease creeping up his spine, his tolerance was wearing thin. Shin was too caught up in his plans to notice.

“We’re a match made in heaven.” His enunciation was crystal. The reaper flinched at the volume.

“We love each other.” Shin was practically yelling. The reaper couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Shin, stop it.” He growled out, echoing through the quiet room. The reaper chanced a look around, the humans were staring. The goblin froze, realising his boyfriend’s anger.

“Just what are you doing?” The reaper whispered, face serious.

“Erm.”

A gasp behind him. He turned around, his colleagues were staring. He hadn’t realised they were there. Understanding dawned on the reaper.

“I- erm. I- they-” Shin was stumbling with his words.

_God, why do I love this stupid man._

“Are you seriously yelling out our love life just to prove them wrong?” His face was twitching with irritation.

Shin had the gall to be surprised. “You knew they were gossiping their doubts?”

“They’re reapers, they _always_ gossip.” He supplied by way of explanation. “Why’d you think you needed to prove anything to them anyway? I certainly don’t.”

“Holy crap, that’s the goblin.” One of the newer grim reapers foolishly whispered. Shin gulped.

His reaper inhaled and released a deep breath. _Uh oh._

He proceeded to yank Shin up by the elbow and drag him towards his colleagues. Their faces paled.

“So, I heard you’re curious about my love life.” He announced, cold venom dripping from a voice that was usually unsure of itself. It was not a side they had seen in their senior before.

The reaper’s face twitched. He was so _done_ with today as Sunny had often groaned during their friendly chats or meetups.

He proceeded to brutally kiss Shin in front of them, hands roughly holding onto his head to keep him in position. Shin’s protests were eaten by the reaper’s invasive tongue, probing into his mouth with a forcefulness he hadn’t known the reaper possessed.

Shin could hear a possessive voice penetrate his consciousness.

_Mine._

He swore his legs were jelly at that moment.

When the reaper finally released him, well aware of their audience, he had to hold unto him to remain standing. The reaper spoke to the others as if nothing had happened.

“If I hear a word about my private life from your lips again…” He absorbed the terrified figures moving away from him. “Well, you don’t want to find out.”

“Come on.” He marched out with a dazed and slightly fearful goblin.

“I think you traumatised them.”

“Good.”

When the frigid tension in the room died down, the reapers finally relaxed.

“Holy shit.”

“Shut up you idiot!”

* * *

Sunny and Eun Tak had burst into laughter when he told them during lunch.

“You clueless idiot brother of mine.” Sunny was choking on her giggles.

Eun Tak gave her a few helpful pats in the back. She wasn’t sympathetic enough to refrain from laughing.

“Mr Goblin, you’re as oblivious as ever.”

He frowned, confused like a newborn pup.

_Ah, your simplicity is both infuriating as it is charming, Shin._

She took pity on him and explained.

“You don’t have to prove anything to anyone. You and Mr Grim Reaper both know how you feel towards each other already, alright?”

_Oh._

* * *

Shin felt he was trapped in the middle of a minefield, unsure of how to approach the reaper.

He seemed unscathed by the Goblin’s antics in the smoothie shop, but there was something weighing heavily on his mind.

Mustering his courage, Shin apologised.

“I’m- sorry.” He gulped nervously. “I shouldn’t have done that in the shop. There was no need. Can you forgive me?”

The reaper had paused his pen, face unreadable to Shin. He could feel his heart beating faster with anticipation.

What he didn’t expect was the soft snicker that escaped from his lover’s red lips.

“You’re an idiotic, cheesy goblin. You know that right?” Shin felt the room’s temperature return to normal. _Wait, did they absent mindedly use their abilities?_

“You’re just as equally dorky.” He responded to the familiar banter.

The goblin looped his arms around the reaper’s shoulders, giggling into his ears.

* * *

“Right, let’s continue running through the criteria.” The reaper intoned, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, clutched in his fingers was a long _scroll._

Shin grunted an affirmative.

“26) Do they have a history with substance abuse?”

“Nope. But Eun Tak’s boyfriend smokes occasionally. Got that from the smell of his clothes.”

“You smelled it? From that distance? Is that one of your enhanced abilities? You know what? Never mind. Minus one point.”

“Yup. I know you had chamomile tea this morning. Next?”

“27) Do they have a history of bad breakups?”

“The girl my sister is meeting has a bunch of unreplied texts from her ex. She’s been trying to delete him from her life unsuccessfully.”

“I think that warrants more investigation. We can’t let him potentially harass Sunny and her lover.”

“Noted. I’ll ask Deok Hwa to help dig into it a bit.”

They ran through 50 items on the list that night.

* * *

When the two girls found out what they had been doing, they had been infuriated.

“You idiots! You’re our parents! Stop probing into our private lives!”

“But Sun, she’s notorious for scolding employees!”

“It’s Sunny and I don’t care! Stop being creepy, overprotective, _mother hens.”_

“I suggest that you invite her to help you out in the restaurant, just to confirm the fact. Eun Tak, you should try bringing your boyfriend to watch Doctor Strange, texting while driving is dangerous. He could learn something from it.” The reaper was reading from his notebook, filled to the brim with information about their friend’s loved ones.

Eun Tak cradled her head in her hands. “I can’t believe I’m friends with you two.”

* * *

 

“Have you thought of a name for yourself?” Sunny asked the reaper as they strolled comfortably through empty streets one cold evening. Her brother was busy with his company and Eun Tak with her finals. “I know you’ve been agonising about it all this while.”

“Mm. I still have no idea what to call myself. Shin is okay with calling me whatever he picks up from movies and tv shows but…” He bit his lip, thoughtful.

“You’d like to have some fuller sense of identity.”

“Yeah. That.”

They lapsed into pensive silence, basking in the slight warmth of the fading sun. Sunny pulled at the reaper’s coat sleeve, careful not to touch his skin.

“Have you ever thought of reusing the name Wang Yeo?”

“Why would I even want to?” He frowned.

“I know that name is a terrible reminder of the past, but it’s still a part of you. I think Shin would understand and be accepting.”

“It’s the name of the person who killed him and you in the past.” He replied, incredulity and confusion in his expression.

“Not me, Kim Sun of the past. Kim Sun of the now has forgiven you. I think my brother would forgive the current Wang Yeo too.”

* * *

“Ngh- you- feel- amazing-” Shin grunted as he crushed the reaper with his weight. Yeo’s limbs straddled his torso tightly, his muscles tense.

The reaper whimpered pitifully, overwhelmed by the mix of pain and pleasure.

“Are you about to cry?” Shin paused in his ministrations, concerned with the mewling, teary eyed man currently being _impaled._

“Sunny once said- I look like I’m always about to cry. I’m trying very hard not to but this is-”

“We can stop-”

“ _No.”_

“Are you sure-” He wasn’t given the opportunity to finish his sentence as Yeo bucked forcefully, muffling his scream into Shin’s shoulder just as Shin yelped.

“I’m being serious though-” Shin rasped. “The first time we did it- you could barely get up after-” It was a strange sight to see the teary man growl. Shin was tempted to laugh at the sight.

_Move!_

“Ack!” Shin muttered a litany of curses. “Couldn’t you let me finish what I was saying?!”

“Can you just mngh-” This time Shin caught the reaper by surprise, his entire body tensing to the thrust. Vengeance was on Shin’s mind.

“Ha! Got you! You’re going to pay- OW!” The reaper bit down onto the other man’s shoulder with enough force for it to bruise.

“What was that for?!”

“I’m competitive! Not unfeeling!” Yeo snarled like a wounded cat licking his wounds.

“Now I’m going to look like dracula bit me!”

“Serves you right for that stunt you pullick-”

The two decided to fight that night. It resulted in painful bites and punches and kicks and sudden thrusts and bucking. At one point, there were even pillows levitating about the room. The bed rattled as they fought tooth and nail, the house trembling as they resorted to anything to gain the upper hand. Yeo decided to use the objects around him to his advantage, the curtains wrapping around Shin and pinning him to the wall. 

He slinked towards him despite the tremor running down his thighs. His back  _hurt_ and he was _definitely_ not letting the goblin get the last laugh.

"Uh-" The reaper swallowed all the words the other had to say, shoving the man back with a forceful kiss, chewing on the others lips and invading the Shin's mouth. The goblin whined, melting under the roll of the reapers hips against his restrained torso. He trailed cold finger tips across the expanse of skin not hidden by the unconventional restraints, pressing down at the occasional sensitive spot. 

With a flick of his hands Shin tumbled flat on his face, the reaper crawling onto the messy tangle of curtains, blankets and paper strewn everywhere.

"You stupid goblin-" Yeo snarled viciously at the side of Shin's head before flipping him over like a doll and straddling the other's hips. Shin would have been terrified if he weren't equally unyielding nor this _excited_ at being captive. Plus, he'd heard the reaper's soft gasp as he sat, a warm weight on his crotch. There was the intense urge to  _move,_ the reaper's offending mass and bonds weighing him down.

When the reaper recovered, he bared sharp teeth at the other man, pressing both arms onto his chest. The cool floor was a contrast to the nebulous heat building up in his stomach. The goblin bit his lips, it was torturous to be tied down like this!

"Let me guh-" Yeo smirked. Revenge was sweet.

The goblin huffed, chest expanding and decompressing relentlessly. Yeo was _riding_ him as if he was some sort of show horse, slowly pulling himself up before collapsing with his full weight. Amidst the unwilling wrenching of wails from Shin's lips, the goblin struggled to find any opportunity to throw off the other.

When Yeo's face scrunched in grimace, beads of sweat trickling down his forehead, his entire body shuddering from the labour and overload of his sense, Shin saw it as his chance. He buffeted Yeo with pillows, managing to throw him onto the mattress with a resounding crash. Shin had enough in him to still wince at that. The reaper was a quivering mess on the bed, winded but still defiant in his stubbornness. He made to get up with weak limbs. 

“How dare yack-” Shin pushed the reaper face down unto the mattress, pressing down upon him like a wrestler.  Yeo thrashed about, trying to regain higher ground.

“Let me uhwaak-” The goblin snapped his hips in quick succession, seizing the reaper’s writhing form by his shoulders and holding him down. The sudden change in the angle of the pumps causing Yeo to squawk in surprise and shudder in unholy arousal. His body was good at betraying him.

“This- is- your- fault!” Shin hissed, remorseless in plunging into the other quickly, childish contempt overtaking him, uncaring of how he straddled the squirming body beneath him. His fingers held the other tightly, grazing his skin. He bent forward, lips planting wet kisses along the reaper’s velvety back as an apology.

“Get off me or else!”

Shin decided change tactics and withdraw sluggishly, dragging out the intrusion achingly slowly before slamming down unto the quivering man swiftly. Yeo yelped, trying extremely hard not to let unbidden tears fall. He was trying not to think about how humiliating the position felt after all that effort he put in to subdue his lover but it was incredibly distracting that the ministrations were never constant. 

His breath hitched and his heart skipped as the goblin's rough hands found purchase around his groin. He wasn't given a moment of reprieve nor adjustment as there was only  _motion_ and the keen friction of clammy skin. Shin's chest scrabbled along his back with every thrust, sharp teeth nipping at his ears. He felt as if all of him belonged to this man, a sensation so foreign he could only surrender.

As both men struggled in the sweaty tangle of limbs, the quiet night was broken with shrill cries, sharp hitches in breath and angry hisses.  

Yeo screamed into the frigid night air just as Shin’s entire form spasmed. The reaper proceeded to sob into mattress, face burning from shame, regret and contempt.

“I… hate you… so much.” He grumbled, salty tears running down his cheeks.

Shin snorted, exultant. “You started it.”

Yeo admitted defeat, curling into the sheets grumpily. Shin annoyingly cuddled him from the back, gently patting his messy curls.

“Heh, does that mean we’re 2:1 now?”

The next day when Sunny and Eun Tak visited the mansion to share some drinks, the place was a mess.

“What happened?! Did some typhoon come through the window?!” The furniture was overturned, some paintings were hanging from only a nail, a few porcelain plates were in pieces.

“Shin! Yeo!” Eun Tak had called out in concern.

They were met with a morose reaper and triumphant goblin. Yeo’s sweater looked like it hung off him, as if his mood made even his clothes seem gloomy. His hair was tussled, more so than usual. His eyes were redder than usual. In other words, he looked terrible.

“What happened to you?!”

“He was too competitive for his own goo- Ow!” Yeo had swivelled around and given Shin a punch in the nose before limping towards a bewildered Eun Tak and Sunny.

“Can I stay with you guys for a while?” He crunched on the words. He was a literal and figurative _sore loser._ His left hand was massaging his throbbing back, attempting to knead the ache away. He wanted to bury himself in the ground and  _not move_ for another decade, _everywhere_  was tender and sore.

“Erm, okay?”

They all ended up sleeping over at Sunny’s tiny apartment with the two girls laughing at the two men’s juvenile scuffle.

* * *

The next time they had sex, Yeo was a vengeful man.

He subdued the goblin. Twice. And in one night.

When his nephew had asked him what was wrong he’d replied.

“My entire backside hurts but my pride’s even worse. I didn’t even know a position like that even existed…” His left eye twitched.

Deok Hwa had been so disturbed he asked Secretary Kim to keep him busy.

_2 love. The game is tied._

* * *

On occasion, the two men would bring the others along on their trips to other countries. Yeo had introduced them to the rice paper spring rolls from Vietnam. Shin had bought beef Pho for them.

They relaxed in the hot sun by the seaside, the grainy sand stuck between their toes.

They had decided to play volleyball, Eun Tak and Yeo on one team and the siblings on the other. Deok Hwa, not wanting to incur the wrath of either uncle, had become the referee.

The two men were competitive as usual but what terrified them was the women’s ferocity. The goblin hadn’t known Eun Tak knew such colourful language. The reaper didn’t know Sunny held such intense aggression in silence.

They were terrifying.

_Er, let’s make sure to never step on their toes. Or get in their hair._

_Truce._

Eun Tak and Yeo had won the match with great toil. Sunny stared down her brother with accusing eyes.

“Were you or were you not distracted by Yeo’s _biceps_?” She practically hissed.

Shin gulped.

* * *

Between every shenanigan and immature dual there were also moments tinged with sadness.

They rarely spoke of the bloody past, filled with death, murder and war. It didn’t mean it didn’t still haunt them on occasion.

Eun Tak and Sunny had attempted to bring them to the city’s Lunar New Year celebrations. The streets had been jam packed, decorated with bright red lanterns and lined with food stalls.  

The noises were loud and cheerful but all Shin could hear were war drums, trumpets signalling the incoming platoon, the sound of swords clashing.

Kim Shin couldn’t bear it, everything was too loud and he’d been in too many battles. Primal fear for an enemy plagued him, swords and shields and screams of his men slaughtering and being slaughtered. The taste of iron on his tongue as he bit his lips in fear of the enemy’s reinforcements against his already desecrated army.

He could feel the tenseness of his muscles, anticipating and ready for an enemy to cut down. Cold sweat dripped down his skin, soaking his cotton shirt that stuck to his skin like his blood soaked uniform. His knees trembled as panic overcame him.

The four of them settled in Eun Tak’s bedroom instead, enjoying some sweet rice cakes and pancakes whilst playing with an ancient board game the reaper had collected in British occupied Malaya.

* * *

The reaper found himself being escorted by a goblin in one arm and his ex goblin bride in the other.

The two were babbling about something to do with fedoras and the reaper community’s pretentiousness, with him sandwiched between them.

He shook them off, stomping away in his fit, leaving two figures bent over with hurting stomachs from laughter.

Yeo asked himself for the umpteenth time why he chose to care for these people of the 7 billion alive on earth.

Distracted, he’d walked off on his own to a crowded street, forgoing his caution to avoid contact with human skin.

The torrent of accidents, blood and gore winded him. Passerbys hurriedly moved to check up on his now collapsed form, kind hands feeling for a pulse, a temperature. Their concerned eyes were a contrast to the cold dead ones he saw.

He could hear his own screams tearing from his throat, limbs struggling against the concerned crowd attempting to hold him down.

_He was pinned down as hands touched everywhere before strangling him to death._

“Someone call an ambulance! He knocked his head on the pavement!”

_She was hit in the head by falling construction debris from a building under renovation._

“Mister, calm down, breathe, breathe!”

_He had been drowning in the sea, his grasp on his surfboard slipping, wave upon wave pulling him down into the dark abyss._

“Where’s the medic?! Give him some space, he’s hyperventilating!”

Human anaesthesia didn’t work on reapers but he’d blacked out from the too vivid images anyway.

He woke up to the Goblin’s concern. One of the few people he could touch, he could hold, without seeing tragedy.  

* * *

“I’m going to order some pizza. What do you want?”

“Hawaiian please.”

Yeo ordered two, one Hawaiian and the other vegetarian without pineapples. There was so much leftover he had to stash them in the fridge.

_Yuck, pineapples._

* * *

When Eun Tak and Sunny had finally introduced their significant others to the superhuman duo, they decided to test their mettle against the family’s strangeness.

“So this is the goblin’s cave?” Eun Tak’s boyfriend whispered. “It’s huge!”

“Yes, Mr Lee. Would you like some wine? Red or white?” Yeo had chilled two bottles without a batting an eyelash in front of his guests. Eun Tak was visibly combusting in her seat.

“Red please. Thank you.” He managed to cough out after getting over the fact that this pale man was cooling the bottles with his _hands._

“Dinner is served!” With a wave of his palm, six plates of steak and one bowl of mushroom soup levitated to each person’s front.

“Am I seeing things?” Sunny's girlfriend rasped with disbelief.

Deok Hwa was chewing his lips so hard in frustration Shin was afraid it would start bleeding.

The new guests had been visibly shaken by the sights and sounds they’d seen that night but had persevered.

The goblin’s nephew gave them a scathing, fearless and, in their eyes, disrespectful earful.

“You guys need to stop being so madly protective! You’ll scare everyone out of our lives!”

He made them promise to tone down their antics around poor unsuspecting humans about to come into their family members’ lives.

* * *

When he had the time, Yeo would find humans he thought were deserving of miracles.

From the goblin, he had picked up the habit of sharing the other half of the sandwich with another.

“Don’t jump. Your feet are still on the platform. You can still make a choice.”

The first sandwich was shared on the 13th floor balcony with a suicidal teen who’d been bullied online relentlessly. They had dangled their feet over the ledge, sat side by side.

“Are you an angel?”

“No.”

“You’re a miracle worker then.”

“Not that either. I’m just mimicking someone else.”

The kid had torn her suicide note and reported the online users to the authorities that same day.

* * *

Shin had come to like intruding on Yeo’s tea shop.

It was the place that gave him that distinct smell. He employed himself to be the reaper’s assistant, sometimes helping to bring the tea to dead souls and comforting where Yeo did not know how.

“It’s alright girl, you’ve endured so much. Those cuts on your hands, you were just trying to survive, to feel. Yes?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry I’m so pathetic.”

“Hey now, you’re not. You tried your best to live and that can be enough.”

He learnt of the various types of teas. What they did, where they were stored and how to brew them.

He would sit by the reaper as he read out the deceased final destinations. Some of them would bring tears to their eyes. Some would fill them with righteous fury, either at the deceased or god himself.

Eun Tak and Sunny had initially thought that facing so much death couldn’t possibly be good for them, often imploring quietly that Shin avoid visiting and Yeo take as many leaves as possible.

They were wrong though, for traitorous kings and overly skilled generals, meeting dead souls together was therapeutic. Knowing the other was here for the other, a comfort. They were together despite each having a foot in life and in death, standing in the in between.

When Yeo sent off kids beaten to death or dead by suicide, Shin would grasp onto his hand tightly and tell them (him) it wasn’t their fault.

When they sent off young soldiers, Yeo would rub comforting circles into the goblin’s back whispering to them (him) that the war is over.

They would also share understanding smiles with lovers that walked up heaven’s stairs, hands held together.

To live in limbo together made the days, months, years speed by. Each second tinged with the beauty of life and the peace of death.

* * *

“Do you ever wonder if God will ever end our punishment?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“What do you think?”

“If you’re still glued to me, I think it’s more than bearable.”

* * *

“Wow, boss and the goblin are so romantic.”

“Really? They’re so disgustingly sweet with each other.”

“You’re just envious. They’re living like humans.”

“But they’re not.”

“They don’t care.”

* * *

The wedding dinner was a merry celebration, family and friends dancing in the centre of the ballroom.

Shin had swapped partners for Eun Tak, her new husband dancing with his sister’s wife.

“You know goblin, when I first met you and Yeo, it was the happiest I thought I’d ever be.”

“You did?”

“Mhm. I didn’t see that happiness came and went like the tide nor did I realise that it would never leave forever.”

She twirled in her white, frilly wedding gown, his gaze following her graceful movements.

“These past years, they mean more to me than my entire time immortal ever did.” He sighed, eyes looking into the distant past but with an honest smile on his lips.

He turned towards his two other loved ones, slow dancing to the soft music, shoulders relaxed.

“Life is good.” He breathed out.

The night was filled with quiet laughs, the excitement of a new chapter in life beginning and the warmth of family.

* * *

 “I bet I can make him laugh harder than you can.”

“Oh, you’re on.”

Deok Hwa shook his head, returning to reading his emails.

_Why did Sunny put me up to babysitting her son with them._

Shin cradled his sister’s child, _his nephew,_ tossing him into the air and catching him with a flourish of sparkles.

“Is that… glitter dust?”

The baby had sneezed, snot covering his face and the beginning of tears in his tiny orbs.

“Oh no oh no oh no. Shit!”

Yeo hurriedly wiped the toddler’s face with a clean handkerchief, removing the glitter.

“You idiot. Scoot over.” He scolded.

Yeo proceeded to puff his cheeks, flaring his nostrils and bulging his eyes. His usually stony face contorting into silly, mildly terrifying, expressions. When he stuck out his tongue and blew, the baby’s tiny lips stretched into a small smile, gurgling in amusement.

"He giggled!” Yeo sent a smug look at Shin. Shin just elbowed him in the ribs.

“You’re holding a human baby, just so you know.”

“I bet I can make him say my name first.”

_Stupid uncles._

* * *

Sunny had yelled to the skies once.

“God! I know you’re listening! If you dare interfere with my family, you’ll hear no end of it when I’m in heaven! Don’t you dare tell me we can’t all stay together! I know the stint your audit team pulled on Yeo!”

With dark circles underneath her eyes from sleepless nights she snarled.

“Don’t you dare try to manipulate any of our memories! My son will grow up knowing who his uncles- his family, really are!”

Obediently, god had listened.

* * *

“It still hurts. The sword.”

“Sending off souls is tiring.”

It was an unspoken question when they met with the others, the humans.

It was hidden in their sad eyes and knowing glances, their caution on speaking of matters of the divine.

_Does the Goblin's chest still ache with the sword in place?_

_Does the reaper still cry for the souls that never stop leaving?_

Their curiosity would remain only that. A passing wonder. To them however, the answer was clear. Even a life worth living could be exhausting.

Weary were their souls despite having survived the loneliness of the years in hundreds.

That night they surrendered themselves to mindless passion and bittersweet kisses, both grounded and shot into the stratosphere by the other’s company.

_At least I have you._

* * *

The chaos of a child's birthday party was new to them.

Colourful balloons, stacks of presents in all shapes and sizes, party hats and party packs.

Yeo had a hard time figuring out whether the artificially colourful MnMs could cause stomach cancer, reluctantly distributing candy that could lead to diabetes.

Shin was busy entertaining unsuspecting kids and parents with pyrotechnics and magic tricks.

“Watch closely or you'll miss it.” He blew onto the tiny Rubik's cube. It levitated.

The children squealed in delight.

“Uncle, can you make me fly?”

“Sure.”

“Really? You're the coolest!”

Yeo huffed. “Do you want me to show you what magic tricks I know?”

“You know magic tricks too? Uncle 2.0?” His nephew had dubbed the ridiculous nickname, the other kids had stuck to it.

Maybe his robotic movements and fear of touch had something to do with his reputation as some machine. He still wouldn't let Shin best him at impressing a _child_ though.

“Sure I do. Watch.”

He lined up the sweets with disgustingly high sugar content on the floor. Best he kill two birds with one stone. Entertain and avoid feeding more sugar to already hyperactive kids.

“Abracadabra!” He yelled as he slammed his palm into the ground dramatically. The sweets leapt into the air in domino effect.

“Woahh!” He basked in the gleeful cheers and wonderment.

“Please, I can do better.”

The petty competitions were never ending.

* * *

On quiet evenings they would sprawl over each other on the sofa, exhausted from taking care of kids and working at the tea shop. The radio would be tuned to Eun Tak’s station, her voice occasionally filtering through the speakers.

They would cuddle each other, exchanging soft kisses and sleepy laughs.

“It’s so warm.”

“It is a little stuffy.”

“Do you want to get up?”

“Not really.”

“Lazy goblin.”

“Grouchy reaper.”

They let the sun set, awaiting for it to return the next morning.

* * *

“Here is your next batch of name cards.”

“Thanks.”

The work was unending just as the earth continued to turn on its axis.

* * *

Eun Tak had shared beer with him once. She wasn't much of a drinker.

The both of them were workaholics with bad childhoods though. That granted some time alone together to get drunk and talk about their demonic guardians.

“Sometimes when I look at my kid, I can't help but worry. What if I'm not doing things right?”

“I think you're doing a fine job.”

Alcohol addling the sharpness of her mind and her usual tact, she snorted.

“You'd know huh. With Park Joong Heon for a dad, my aunt, we both have low standards for parenting.”

“Yeah, I guess. Still doesn't mean you're doing a bad job. I think we'd know a sad kid if I saw one.”

“Yeah.”

* * *

Shin wondered if his sister remembered the fear and worry of wartime in ancient Goryeo.

Women would pray on their knees that their husbands and sons would return safely, that the kingdom's defenses barred out murderers and rapists.

His heart broke when she flinched at the sight of a bow and arrow when they visited a museum together.

* * *

Time trickled away, saplings grew into gnarled trees.

The goblin and grim reaper would stop time for as long as they could in dark nights.

“You did it again.” Shin would pant out amidst the haze of lust.

“Hm?” The reaper would open an eyelid.

“You paused time again.”

“Oh.”

The rhythm of their movement was synchronised to the tick of the clock. They could only freeze time for so long.

Shin would wheeze, exerting himself to meet with the Reaper, joined at the hips. On nights like this one, they wouldn’t speak or argue or fight. There were only whimpers and croaks of each other’s names.

They would exchange pleas for the other to stay just as time threatened their mortal loved ones. They would undulate slowly, hands massaging relaxed muscles or caressing the dip of their backs.

Tongues plunging into each other, inhaling the other scent, memorising the curves and sharp angles of each other. Times like this, they eased and entwined in the humid room, everything in vicinity a distant thought. Yeo’s lips would release high pitched cries that would grow louder and more broken as the ice freezing time would always melt.

Their sobs would wrack through the house as they embraced each other, helpless to death that loomed ever closer.

* * *

They would make no mention of Eun Tak’s increasingly wrinkled face nor of Sunny’s depreciating health.

Even Deok Hwa with legs that used to propel him anywhere he wanted to be, found himself struggling to even walk.

There was only their steadfast vigilance and presence, guarding these last precious moments.

* * *

There were still moments these humans would surprise them.

“Please stay here. We’ll come find you.”

The goblin and the reaper’s cave became the point of convergence for a family built on choice.

* * *

“Please look after my son.”

* * *

When the first name card came, they donned black suits and ties.

Yeo had helped Eun Tak to stand on her knobbly legs by the gravestone. Shin had hugged his nephew, now a young adult, close to his chest. Deok Hwa sat in his wheelchair.

The first to leave had been Sunny.

The skies poured for weeks and the tea house echoed eerily.

* * *

 

When Shin and Yeo kissed their tongues tasted of ash and dread for the name cards they always knew in the back of their minds would come.

* * *

When they saw Deok Hwa then Eun Tak through heaven's doors, they wept into each other’s arms, fingers scrabbling the other for purchase.

“You were alone with this for years. How did you live?”

“I didn't. But I was patient and rewarded with Eun Tak, my sister and you.”

Shin stole Yeo's murmurs of gratitude with tender kisses, cherishing the existence of one another.

* * *

A decade passed and their nephews and nieces were living their lives elsewhere but never too far away.

They found Eun Tak, reborn as a daughter to a loving family with aspirations to be an artist. She smiled when Yeo played a recording of her past life's radio broadcasts. She remembers and she is ready to start a new life.

Sunny was an actress, dressing up in all the clothes she liked. Passing out flirtatious smiles with knowing eyes.

“You’re still as clumsy as ever brother.”

“And you’re just as ugly.”

Deok Hwa was a fashion designer, crafting customised tuxedos and dresses for big shots. He told his uncles he preferred it over the grand responsibility of being company heir.

Time wore down on the immortal duo but they were tied always to their families.

* * *

There was always the waves of happiness and sorrow. But nothing good lasted forever, neither did anything bad.

They had each other and that was enough to last through even the erosion of time.

 

 

  
-end-

**Author's Note:**

> Wow that was long. Hopefully it flows okay. Their story is always bittersweet but everlasting. Was hoping to sequence it as time going by slower (hence more detail) and then as the human characters age, everything is speeding up to a definite end.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
